Running back Cam Akers’ three-year career at Florida State will be remembered for him putting up good numbers on mediocre teams.
FSU went 18-19 with Akers as its lead running back. But Akers, who was selected 52nd in the NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams, certainly did what he was supposed to do, rushing for 2,875 yards (sixth in school history) and 27 touchdowns (seventh) at FSU. He also had 69 receptions for 486 yards and seven touchdowns.
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Given what he had to go through with the Seminoles — he played for two coaches and three offensive coordinators, and in his final two seasons ran behind what charitably can be called a horrible offensive line — the numbers actually are quite impressive.
Akers was a consensus five-star recruit and a top-three prospect nationally in 2017 out of Clinton (Miss.) High, near Jackson. Akers was a dual-threat quarterback in high school, starting four seasons, but was signed as a running back by then-coach Jimbo Fisher, who used a pro-style attack.
That season, Akers broke Dalvin Cook’s single-season school freshman rushing record with 1,024 yards. He had four 100-yard games and averaged 5.3 yards per carry. He was viewed as one of the top backs in the country headed into the 2018 season.
But new coach Willie Taggart changed offenses, installing a spread attack that utilized the zone read and a run-pass option running game. While Taggart had had success with that style at previous stops, quarterback Deondre Francois was not a running threat and the line was akin to a sieve. As a result, Akers’ rushing total dropped to 706 yards. And in a damning indictment of the line, 573 of those yards came after contact. That’s a rate of 81.2 percent, which was the second-highest in the FBS ranks. Who was first? His teammate, Jacques Patrick, at 84.7 percent.
While the line returned basically intact for 2019, new coordinator Kendal Briles tweaked the offense a bit and the result was Akers’ best season. The line still was bad, but Akers earned second-team All-ACC honors after leading FSU with 1,144 yards on 231 carries (5 yards per carry) and 14 touchdowns. Akers also caught 30 passes for 225 yards (7.5 yards per reception) and four touchdowns. He accounted for 22.7 percent of the Seminoles’ all-purpose yardage and 30.3 percent of their scoring.
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Again, he frequently made something out of nothing. Data from Sports Info Solutions showed that 767 of his yards came after contact last season (15th most in the country). In all, 67 percent of Akers’ rushing yards came after contact, the fifth-highest rate among 1,000-yard rushers. He forced 60 missed tackles, good for 16th.
He had six 100-yard games — one more than in his first two seasons combined — and had five games with 20-plus carries, showing he can handle a heavy workload.
Florida State has had just 13 1,000-yard seasons in its history, and Akers has two of them. He is the third Seminoles player with multiple 1,000-yard seasons, joining Cook and Warrick Dunn.
Akers had a strong performance at the NFL Scouting Combine, running the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds and turning in a vertical jump of 35.5 inches. Akers has good shiftiness and quickness, but lacks elite top-end speed. He had 80 runs of at least 10 yards during his FSU career, but just 19 of at least 20. (As a comparison, Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins had 20 runs of at least 20 yards last season alone.)
Akers has been dinged by some analysts for a lack of patience, but that may be a direct reflection of the past two seasons – when he was in danger of being engulfed by defenders as soon as he got the handoff and thus wanted to hit the presumed hole as soon as possible.
Taggart certainly was a big fan.
“I think he’s awesome. I think he’s the best running back in the country,” he said during the 2019 season. “The kid, he’s special. You see the way he runs the football.
“He’s a tremendous talent.”
And who knows? Maybe he’ll get to run behind a competent offensive line going forward.
Advance statistical data provided by Sports Info Solutions
(Photo: Logan Stanford / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)